Soul of The Soldier: Remake
by BeerusUzumaki
Summary: Thanks to an unexpected accident, Cloud Strife has a run in with the hot headed Ichigo Kurosaki. How will these two spiky haired warriors deal with each other?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A cold breeze blew through a train station. Two guards were on duty, bored out of their minds.

The taller of the two was practicing katas. He was an older guard, being aged around 40 years old. His head was a mess of grays. He wielded a long thin blade, and expertly swung, slicing down his imaginary opponents. His eyes were a deep shade of purple and through them you could see the wisdom the man possessed.

The other was a shorter and slimmer man. The soldier was still fairly young, no older than eighteen. He was sat on a chair, playing an Ocarina. His blond locks danced in the air as he played, swaying along with the wind. His eyes were held shut as he expertly blew a masterpiece. The song was a smooth melody, one that almost seemed magical.

It was just another day on the job, and nothing interesting seemed to be happening, as usual.

"This seems like the perfect day to train!" The taller soldier remarked. "Instead of playing music, you could attempt to master that new sword technique you've been practicing, Jin."

The smaller man snorted. "Listen, I've mastered that move ages ago. I just don't wanna waste it, not without a reason, Kenji." Jin then continued to play his instrument.

Kenji glared at his partner. He was tired of having young soldiers on his team, they would always complain rather than train.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his silver locks. This job was really getting stressful, maybe a retirement was in order.

Jin suddenly stopped playing his music and gazed at the train tracks. "Hey, Kenji?" The older man responded with a snort. "Is there supposed to be a train scheduled tonight?"

Kenji looked at the tracks, confused as he saw the lights getting brighter as the train moved closer to their location. "Not that I know of. Maybe boss has a guest coming? You know how he loves those tramps."

Jin rose to his feet and gripped his blade. His eyes never left the train as it slowed to a stop. The two men stared at the door for almost an entire minute.

"We're here!" They heard a burly voice yell, causing both men to jump. They were even more surprised as they saw two figures jump off, a male and a female.

The boy was slim with swept-back brown hair and a bandana tied round his forehead. He wore an olive shirt and green three-quarter trousers, brown boots with silver fasteners round the ankle, brown gloves, and two belts: one black and one brown, the latter of which has a pouch on his left hip. He quickly reached in the pouch and fetched twin knives, whilst grinning at the older guard.

The young woman had brown eyes and medium-length brown hair tied into a ponytail. She wears a blue top with metal armor and brown gloves, and knee-length green shorts. She carried a small sword in her hand and glared at the older adversary.

"Stand down, criminals!" Kenji said firmly as he gripped his own blade. Jin silently switched into a more comfortable position, prepared to parry at a moments notice.

"How about, no!" The male criminal responded as he dashed towards his opponent, with his ally following suit.

He swung low, and was impressed at the soldiers reaction time. He quickly parried the blade and countered with a side swipe, which was easily evaded. The two continued to slice and parry, neither getting the edge.

The younger soldier wasn't fairing as well. He never trained, so it was expected for him to be sloppy. He grimaced as his arm was cut by the quick female and quickly released his blade, causing it to clatter on the cement. He was quickly kicked in the back of the head, ending his consciousness.

"Jin?" Kenji said as he turned towards his ally.

"Gotcha!" Kenji froze as he felt two blades enter his midsection. He was then kicked forward, causing him to roll onto the train tracks.

"Nice job, Wedge and Jessie!"

"Can't get my hands dirty yet…" Cloud said to himself. He jumped off the train and the saw the buff figure of Barrett in front of him.

"C'mon newcomer. Follow me," Barrett yelled as he took off running ahead of the group.

"They are so inexperienced…" Cloud thought. He ran and took the two potions off of the first guard's belt. As he ran to the next one, two guards came around the corner. The first shot at him with a machine gun, but he put his massive sword in the way. The other ran and punched him. "Pathetic" He barely felt the hit. He ran and cut the first with his sword, an instant kill. The second tried to punch him again, but he stuck out his sword and killed him quickly.

He sheathed his large blade and searched their bodies and then took their money. He continued on to the next section and saw his group standing at a door. The outgoing Biggs looked at him in awe.

"Wow! You used to be in SOLDIER, huh? …Not everyday ya find one in a group like AVALANCHE." he said with a dreamy look on his face.

Jessie scoffed. "SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" She gazed Cloud suspiciously. "What's he doing with us in AVALANCHE?"

"He WAS in SOLDIER," Biggs corrected with emphasis. "But he quit and is now with us. I didn't catch your name…."

"…Cloud," Was all he said, getting annoyed with the situation. He folded his arms and looked away from the clowns.

"Cloud eh? I'm…"

"Look I don't care what your names are. Once this jobs over… I'm outta here." This apparently hurt Biggs, for he looked down in shame. Jessie folded her arms across her chest and glared at the rude soldier, whom ignored her. The leader of the group, Barrett, came running towards them. He looked angry.

"The Hell you all doin? I thought I told ya'll never travel in a group! Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it." As if on cue Jessie opened the door and everyone proceeded through. Barrett stopped at the door and turned around. "Ex-SOLDIER, ay? Don't trust ya." He then followed his team, leaving Cloud alone. As Cloud entered he sighed at the sight. Everyone was running around like they were lost.

"Man, these people are pathetic!"He thought as he ran to the exit on the other end, which they soon followed. They saw a few guards on the bridge that they were on, but they were weak just like every other one. As they approached the next section, Barrett started talking about how important the Mako reactor was. "Look, I didn't come here for a lecture. Let's just do what we gotta do."

This obviously angered Barrett. "Alright!" he yelled whilst waving a gunned fist in the blondes face. "You're coming with me from now on!"Cloud shrugged his shoulders.

The panel in front of Biggs glew. "Code Deciphered," he said. The door opened and Jessie went to the next one.

"Code deciphered," she said as she broke the code. They ran through the door, but Cloud took a right, grabbing the Phoenix down that some rookie must have dropped. He then followed the group into an elevator. "Push that button," Jessie said trying to avoid eye contact with Cloud. He did as told and the elevator went down.

"Little by little the reactor will drain the life of the planet and that'll be that," Barrett said with a slight sad tone to his voice.

"Not my problem,"Cloud shrugged whilst studying the door.

"The Planet's dying Cloud!" Barrett yelled. Cloud looked away, not liking the tone the man was using.

"The only thing I care about is finishing this job before the security and Roboguards come." Barrett strained to keep himself from putting his machine gun hand into Cloud's face and unloosing his unlimited amount of bullets.

The rest of the ride was silent. When the elevator stopped, the trio seemed relieved to get away from one another. They ran down a lot of stairs, killing the weak Roboguards and throwing the human guards over the edge.

They got to a room full of pipes and ladders. They jumped over a pipe then onto a ladder going down. Cloud grabbed a potion off the floor and jumped on another ladder. A big machine came as if out of nowhere, but one thunder attack and it was a pile of bolts. The duo ran down some more pipes and climbed down another ladder. They ran down a hall, and found a restore materia on the ground. They approached a wheel on the wall.

"When we blow this place, ain't gonna be nothing more than a hunka junk," Barrett said smiling. "Set the bomb, Cloud."

"Shouldn't you do it?" Cloud asked, annoyed.

"You do it! I gotta watch and make sure you don't try nothing funny!"

"Fine I'll do it." Cloud sighed as he thought of the stupidity in that comment. As he stepped closer he felt a strong pain in his head. Everything became fuzzy as he heard an extremely loud ringing. Somehow a voice broke through, much louder than the sound.

"Watch out, this isn't just a reactor!"

"What's wrong?" Barrett asked as he looked quizzically at his employee.

"Huh?" Cloud said, coming out of his daze. He looked around, searching for the source of the voice. All he could see however were pipes.

"Hurry up!" Barrett yelled.

"Yea…" Cloud said. He set the bomb, and then an alarm went off. He gazed up and instinctively rolled away as he felt something coming his way.

"The fuck is that?" Barret asked as he gripped his gun arm.

A giant machine fell from the sky and landed right in front of the two. The machine was colored in red's and yellows. The machine resembled a scorpion, however it also had a torso like a human. It let out a ray of light and scanned the intruders.

"Don't know," Cloud said calmly as he withdrew his weapon, "but it looks like it wants to fight."

The machine whirred in agreement as it rushed the two. Barret jumped back as he released a volley of bullets while Cloud blocked a claw strike with his sword. The two began a battle of strength, each trying to gain an edge over their opponent.

"Look out!"

Cloud instinctively jumped away as the creatures tail implanted the spot he was standing in. He then dodged right as the beast sent a wave of energy in his direction.

Barret decided that now was the time to show why he was the boss. He cocked his gun and began to release a large wave of bullets at the machine, which each bounced off of its metal skin. He released a growl as he ran towards the creature still shooting. The machine turned to him and smacked him hard with its tail, sending him sprawling away a few feet.

"Thunder!" Cloud yelled as he released a wave of electricity at the machine. The beast froze as sparks began to fly out of it. Cloud ran to Barret's side and offered a hand, which was smacked away.

"I'm fine!" he roared as he rose to his feet. He glared at Cloud and then back towards his new enemy. "Just sit back and watch the fireworks!"

"AARGGH!" Barret ran into the scorpion, shooting and dodging its numerous attacks. The creature attempted to impale him with its tail, but he fell to his knees and slid underneath it. He continued to blast into its stomach, while the creature attempted to claw him. The brawny man came from behind and gripped the tail to heist himself up, hanging stoically as the creature shook it madly.

"Die you peice o' shit!" Barret began to release an insane amount of bullets into the tail of the creature, grinning as it fell off. He gripped and tore off the rifle tip of the tail and replaced it with his machine gun. "Tell me how this feels!" he said as he placed the barrel to the back of the machines head and blasted, resulting in an explosion of bolts and wires. The legs underneath the machine gave in and collapsed as the man casually leapt off it.

Cloud made a mental note not to get Barrett mad again. "Let's get outta here," he said as they ran toward the exit.

"Ten minutes til detonation." They took off as fast as they could, Cloud easily outrunning the larger Barret. They ran from every enemy, dodging anything that would slow their time. They climbed the first ladder, then the second.

Cloud stopped as he heard screaming. He turned towards the source and saw Jessie's leg stuck in a pipe. He ran towards her and knelt down. "Are you ok?"

The ladies face was red from both exasperation and embarrassment. "Yea, just a little stuck," she responded with a light chuckle. Cloud ignored the motion and gripped her hands, quickly pulling her from the clutches of the room. "Thanks!" Was her response. To Cloud's surprise, she jumped over him cleanly, and ran for the exit. Both men looked at each other and shrugged, following behind her. They quickly made it to the elevator and pressed the button.

"Think we're getting out?" Cloud asked with his arms folded.

"I know I'm getting out!" Barrett yelled, praying that the elevator didn't get stuck. He was breathing hard, enjoying that he finally got a moment to rest. Jessie and Biggs deciphered the door codes and ran out with their teammates following.

"Thirty seconds remaining." The group ran as fast as they could, each getting more worried by the second. Wedge opened the door and they bolted to it. Biggs almost fell over the edge in his haste, but Cloud caught him.

"Save yourself!" he yelled with tear filled eyes. He always knew that he'd be the first to go, just not this soon.

"Naw." Cloud pulled him over and fell on his backside. Biggs ran out leaving Cloud behind, giving the blonde a sympathetic look. "Aww crap!" Cloud yelled as he saw the flames approaching. He raised his forearms to cover his face from the fire, although he knew that it wouldn't help him much. He grit his teeth as he accepted his faith. Only one thought crossed his mind as he began losing consciousness.

'Sephiroth... I can't... Die here!'

XxxoxxX

sooo this is a remake of my story Soul of the Soldier. I liked where I was going with it, but I lind of left it hanging after a while so I'm back. Please review and tell me how I'm doing.


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud woke up in darkness. He wasn't sure if the lights were out or if he was dead. He was aware of the constant ringing in his ear, however.

His shining eyes quickly adjusted, and he noticed that he was alive somehow. He felt himself, making sure he had every limb. All of his equipment was intact. He was definitely alive, but no longer at the Mako Reactor. He was behind a building, and he could hear some people arguing on the other side. He shakily rose to his feet, gripping his head as the pain increased slightly. He stood still, letting it subside a little, and then made his march to gaze around the building.

"You're the great Rukia Kuchiki aren't you?"

A tall man with long red hair and a thin sword on his back stared at a small lady. The man wore a long black robe and sandals with socks. The girl didn't look scared at all. The man was pointing at her and she didn't even flinch. "Gaping like some worthless human. What the hell is the matter with you?"

Strangely to Cloud flower petals manifested all around the duo. Cloud didn't know if this was normal, but it was weird to him. "Isn't that right, Captain Kuchiki?"

Suddenly, as if out of the flowers, a tall man with long bluish hair appeared. He wore the same attire as the other man. His eyes showed no emotion, so Cloud made sure to never forget that face. To Cloud's surprise the girl showed extreme terror when gazing at the new arrival.

"Byakuya, it's you!" Rukia blurt out, fear evident in her voice.

"Rukia…" the man replied with a bored expression.

Behind Rukia, the red haired man raised his blade.

"Look out!" Cloud yelled it in time for her to duck underneath a fatal blow. She quickly jumped away, creating distance between the two. A thin trail of blood could be seen seeping out of her cheek. The red head looked furious.

"First you disgrace yourself by giving away your powers to a human, and now your saved by one?" he yelled, fury evident in his features. "Show yourself, human!"

Cloud walked out, massive blade still in its hilt. He gripped it with both hands and lowered himself into a battle pose. His eyes looked between the two figures, unsure which was more dangerous. His eyes locked with the more calm of the two.

"Kido," the man whispered. Cloud was frozen in place. It felt like a large snake wrapped its way around him and was constantly squeezing. He grit his teeth in pain as he released his blade. He watched in annoyance as it slid towards the man, whom gently placed his foot upon it.

"Massive blade," he said quietly, "also very fragile." A small amount of pressure was applied to his foot, and Cloud grimaced as he saw the weapon shatter into hundreds of pieces. He glared hatefully and grunted as he tries to stand, with no progress.

"Anyways," the red head continued as he turned his gaze back towards Rukia, "you committed a great sin, giving your powers to a human. You should be glad we're handling this, and not the execution squad. Now, tell us where this human is Rukia." The lady stayed silent, her only sound being a groan as she struggled to stand up.

The man's glare grew stronger. "It's over! We're taking you in, and finding the human who stole your powers," his voice became cold, "and kill him!" Rukia's eyes widened as she hears this, and Cloud's struggle against his bonds strengthened. "Don't try to protect him. The only reason you dodged my attack is because I let you. The next move I make with this blade will be fatal."

He advanced on Rukia, but she kept moving backwards. Cloud continued struggling to stand and protect her, but the invisible chains were powerful. Byakuya looked at him with those lazy eyes… Cloud wanted to knock them out of his head.

The red haired man sliced at Rukia but she jumped out the way. He then tried to get her in the air but she dodged it, landing awkwardly on her arm in the road. She regained her balance and jumped back to her feet, but fell down again holding her arm.

Cloud struggled to break loose, using all of his power. He ignored the fire in his veins, figuring that the pain he was dealing which was nothing compared to the woman's life. He shakily made it to his knees, his hands shaking as he held himself up. He panted hard, ignoring the sweaty blonde locks that were dangling in the front his face. His body strained against the foreign pain invading his body.

"Stay in your place, boy." Cloud involuntarily released a shout as he was kicked in the face. He landed on his back and was shocked as he saw the partner of Rukia's attacker standing over him, gazing uninterestedly at him.

"Dammit!" Cloud felt the familiar surge of the limit burst inside him. It wasn't full yet, but wasn't far neither. He glared hatefully at his attacker, who just turned his head back towards the fight as he walked away from him.

The red headed Soul Reaper leaned back slightly as a blue wave flew past his face. He gazed in the direction it came from and was shocked to see a man with blue hair and glasses approaching with a bag in his hands.

"Two armed men attacking an unarmed lady," He said cooly. "I have to tell you, it's not a pretty sight. I don't know, just isn't my style, know what I mean?" He stopped a few yards away from the scene, smirking at the Soul Reapers.

The red haired man smiled as he looked towards his captain. "That's two men that can see us," he said with a chuckle. "So tell me, who the hell are you?"

The man chuckled and straightened his glasses. "Just a classmate," he responded. "One who hates soul reapers."

"Uryu…" Rukia said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I had an urge to go to the store and get some arts and craft supplies. I mean, it's not like I happened to sense some soul reapers whom I hate and wish dead and brought some supplies from home just to make it more believable so that I can run into you and kill them…" he said in an innocent voice, sliding his frames up his nose for emphasis.

" _That's the worst lie I ever heard…"_ Rukia thought with a sweat drop.

"But I understand if your skeptical…" he said calmly. He opened his mouth to speak again but froze as he felt a burst of eyes widened slightly as his bag was cut open, dropping the supplies.

"I asked you a question!" The red haired man yelled, irritation evident in his voice. "I said, who the hell are ya, kid?"

Uryu stayed silent, grinning at the angry robe clad figure. The man smirked darkly. "That's fine, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. We can skip to the part where I kill you!" He rushed towards the boy, but was halted as Rukia stepped In front of Uryu.

"Wait a minute Renji!" she yelled with he arms spread as if she were protecting him. "He's got nothing to do with this!"

"I told you I'm a classmate of Rukia, and I hate soul reapers," Uryu stated matter of factly.

"I don't like your answer, so try again," Renji replied dryly.

Uryu lowered his head and pushed his glasses up his nose, resulting in the frames shining in the light. "Uryu Ishida, and it's a pleasure."

"What's with you all of a sudden" Renji asked skeptically.

"I just thought you had a right to know." Uryu fixed his glasses once more as a smirk spread across his face. "You may be a soul reaper, but you should know the name of the one that's about to kill you."

Renji smiled sinisterly. "That settles it. I'm going to cut you in half!"

"We'll see about that!" A bow and arrow made of light appeared in the hand of the teen as he sent a blue wave towards his opponent. Renji swiftly batted the wave away and ran towards his new enemy, jumping high when he got close.

Uryu smiled and shot a blast straight toward Renji. Renji moved too fast for normal eyes to see and appeared in front of Uryu. He hit him in the gut with the hilt of his blade, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him onto his back. He turned onto his stomach on the ground, trembling with pain.

"Well well! You were all talk…" Renji said with a grin. Uryu coughed as blood flowed from his wound. Renji raised his blade, prepared to end it all. "Remember this as you depart from this world!"

Through the entire ordeal, Cloud was straining to stand. Every muscle in his body was tense as he strained to stand. He glared at the red head, feeling a burst of energy preparing to release itself from him.

Byakuya gazed towards the man. He could feel spiritual energy quickly rising in this strange man. He decided that Renji could handle himself, so he refrained from attacking for the moment.

"Stop!" Cloud yelled as he released a wave of energy that destroyed the hold on him. He swiftly ran towards the two with a fist out, prepared to release a punch to the annoying man.

Renji smiled and held his sword out, prepared for the blonde to impale himself. He was shocked as he held out a palm, inches from the blade and aimed at his face.

"Bolt!"

"What?" Renji flinched as he heard the man call out an element, and was even more shocked as he saw a thin stream of lightning fly out of his palm. Too shocked to dodge, he released a scream of pain as the bolt connected with the left side of his face, resulting in a loud crack and sparks erupting. Rukia looked at the sight in shock, while Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

Renji growled as he lifted his face to glare at the blonde. Everyone flinched as the saw smoke rising from his charred face. Cloud grit his teeth as he felt a large buildup of energy in the man. He raised his palm again to prepare another blast, but was shocked as he felt a hand on his wrist. He glanced over and saw the red head glaring evilly at him.

"Bad move, kid," he said in a dark tone. He raised his blade, and Cloud grimaced as he saw energy bleeding off of it.

Cloud charged another bolt in his hand, but quickly fell to his knees as he was kicked in the gut. He quickly jumped back to avoid a swing of the mans blade and quickly sling the bolt at him, which was easily batted away this time.

"This is your END!" Renji roared as he charges at Cloud. Cloud knew that he was in trouble without a weapon, but he would go down swinging.

Both fighters jumped back as a large wave cut them off. Their eyes darted to the left, both curious at who was interrupting their fight.

An orange haired figure was standing there, floating and grinning at the two combatants. Cloud felt a wave of nostalgia as he looked at the figure. The boy's hair was almost the same as Clouds, just a different color. His Blade was large, slightly smaller than Cloud's signature weapon.

"Who the hell are you?" Renji demanded, glaring at the new comer.

The boy smirked confidently. "The name is Ichigo. And I'm the one that's gonna beat your ass. How's it goin?" Ichigo said calmly.

"What squad are you from?" Renji asked. "And look at that overgrown Zanpakto!" he chuckled.

"So you say I have a big one, eh?" Ichigo asked as he examined the blade in his hand. "I thought it looked big compared to Rukia's blade, but now I have something to compare it to." Ichigo then chuckled. "With that black eye, you sure are an ugly fuck, ya know?"

Renji shook with rage as he turned a glare back towards Cloud. He decided that it was best to ignore the ignorance, if only for now. "It's supposed to reflect a Reaper's spirit energy, so how did a punk like you get a big blade like that..?" He looked at Rukia and noticed her staring at the boy. "So he's the kid with your power…" Renji smirked as he charged at Ichigo, their blades instantly clashing.

Cloud watched in awe as the two men battled. The speed that the two were moving at was beyond anything that he ever saw in his life! Their reflexes were amazing as they dodged and parried each other's attacks.

Cloud never felt more helpless in his life. He tightened his fists, hoping that this kid was strong enough to save them all. Without his blade he was nothing. As he watched the duo dance in the sky, his hunger for battle only grew.

Renji kicked Ichigo back, sending him skidding a couple of feet away. He smirked at the panting individual. "You can't beat me with that pathetic blade. Call on its name. Make this fight interesting."

Ichigo looked at Renji and smiled. "So you name your sword? You really need a life, huh?"

Renji gritted his teeth, and then smiled. "You'll never win with an attitude like that. He slid his hand up his sword. "Zabimaru!"

To both Cloud and Ichigo's amazement his sword grew scale like pieces and turned smile widened as he saw the shocked look on the two messy haired men. He swung the flexible blade at Ichigo and it ripped into his shoulder, causing the boy to grunt in pain.

"Don't ever think about beating me. Not ever…" he pulled the blade all the way through ripping through numerous muscles and tendons. Ichigo sat with his eyes open in disbelief, his pain was great and he was surprised that he had to admit defeat.

Renji walked up to Ichigo while smirking like a hyena that caught its prey. "Now to get Rukia her power back…" He halted in front of Ichigo, smiling at the crouched figure. Rukia gritted her teeth and looked away, a tear drop in her eye. Renji raised his blade to finish off the orange haired runt.

"Ice!"

"Aurgh!" Renji yelled as he was hit in the chest with a fist sized block of ice, knocking him back onto the ground.

Cloud quickly took this time to rush and kneel by Ichigo. He quickly grabbed two vials out of his pocket.

"I probably can't win without my sword, but you can," he told the injured boy. "This is going to sting." Ichigo released a groan as Cloud poured the substance onto his wounded shoulder. Much to Ichigo's surprise he could feel his energy returning to him. The wound was closing on his shoulder as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Here." Cloud handed Ichigo a vial, which he hungrily gulped, quickly feeling his power returning.

"This is even better…" Renji said. "I wouldn't want to kill an immobile target."

Ichigo glanced at Cloud. "Thanks." Cloud responded with a nod. Ichigo took a step towards Renji and everyone trembled as they felt his energy rise.

" _His spirit energy is increasing. Impossible!"_ Renji thought as he recoiled from the blast. Ichigo then ran towards the man real and before Renji could react his shoulder was split. Ichigo landed behind him and looked at him in digust. He then ran back at him and sliced upward, knocking Renji into the air.

Renji grabbed on a railing to stop himself from falling. He looked at Ichigo in a slight bit of fear as his cracked headband fell from his head. _"What is wrong with this kid? He was just ready to die and now he's super strong…"_

"I'll tell you the problem. Your moves have suddenly gotten a lot slower!" Ichigo replied with a grin.

"You've gotten faster…" Renji and Cloud both said in disbelief.

"I don't know what's happening to me but I like it! I feel no pain from my wounds, in fact I feel invincible!" He said with a wide smile. Renji swung his sword at Ichigo, but Ichigo lazily moved out the way. He tried again and Ichigo parried it with enough force to make him stumble. Ichigo battled at him and knocked him to the ground.

Renji fell to one knee and realized he couldn't move. He shuddered as he heard Ichigo's voice.

"Told you I was gonna kill you."

Ichigo jumped, sword raised into the air. As he brought it down on Renji, he felt like he missed, which was impossible because Renji never moved. He then noticed his Zanpakto was broken. Everyone stared in disbelief. They looked at Byakuya, and he had the sword piece in his hand.

"Impossible!" Ichigo yelled in fury. "You didn't move!" Byakuya touched the hilt of his sword. Ichigo and Cloud prepared for an attack.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt an immense pain. It was coming from every part of his body. He was sure that he didn't see Byakuya move, but the man was now standing behind him somehow. Ichigo no longer had the energy to stand as his body collapsed to the ground.

"You're even slow when you fall…" Byakuya replied as he watched the falling teen.

"Brother don't do it!" Rukia yelled at the blue haired man. Ichigo suddenly felt another wave of pain as he finally hit the ground. He grimaced as he bounced on the ground.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran to his side, tears rolling down her face.

"Don't!" Renji ran to intercept her, ignoring the pain erupting from his shoulder.

"Leave the lady alone!" Cloud ran at him, fist raised to attack. Renji felt a strong wave of spiritual pressure coming from Cloud as he quickly approached him. He grimaced as he felt the pressure approaching, and was shocked as the fist finally connected, knocking him into a building.

Renji slowly sat up, pain immense in his body. He rubbed his injured jaw, more anger filling his body. How could these two humans injure him? "It doesn't matter… He's dead anyway…" he stammered out.

Byakuya looked on as Rukia dropped to Ichigo's side. He studied the boys face and noticed something.

"He does bear a striking resemblance to him, doesn't he?" Byakuya asked. As he saw the change in Rukia's expression, he felt a tug on his robe bottom. He looked down to see Ichigo grabbing him.

"He's dead you say? Bears a striking resemblance to him? Stop talking about me like im not here, got it?" Ichigo said with a twisted smile on his face. The pain was evident by his expression, but he ignored it.

"Let go…" Byakuya said in an obvious angry growl.

"Sorry I couldn't hear you. Look at me when you talk to me!"

"I see. Looks like you won't be needing that arm." Byakuya remarked as he placed a hand his blade. Suddenly Rukia ran over and kicked Ichigo's hand off of her brother.

"Rukia, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"You are just a human," she said with disgust in her tone. "How dare you grab my brother like that? You better learn your place!"She looked away from Ichigo. She couldn't bear looking at the pain on his features. "We should leave now brother. The actions he just made opened my eyes to the truth. I am ready; take me back to the soul society. I'm ready to atone for my sins."

"You can't!" Ichigo yelled. "Our work isn't finished. Rukia…"

"Let her go…" they all looked at Cloud. "It would be better that way. Just do the smart thing…" He looked away, not knowing why he said that much in the first place.

"I see no need to inflict a final blow on him now," Rukia continued. "Leave him to die; he'll suffer more that way."

"Wait, Rukia! Is this some kinda joke? Look at me!" He tried to stand up, ignoring the pain.

"Don't move!" He froze. His heart was crushed as she spoke to him. "Take one step to me and I'll… never forgive you..." she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You're going to die, so why not stay put to live a little longer…"

"I shall not land the finishing blow" Byakuya said. "Even if he survives this, he'll be empty of spirit energy. Renji, let's go."

Renji stood up and followed his master. As he walked by Cloud, they locked eyes and it seemed as if fire came out of them. Renji rubbed his scarred face, glaring at the blonde.

"Your life is mine," he growled lowly.

"I can't die yet," Cloud responded as they continued to glare at each other.

Renji stood in the front of the group and put his sword in the air. As the blade began to glow he pushed it in front of him. To everyone's surprise some of it disappeared into the air and he turned it like a key.

"Now open!" a door opened in the air and they all entered one by one. Rukia looked back at Ichigo as the door closed.

"Hold still." Cloud jumped over to Ichigo and knelt close to him with his palms glowing. "Restore!" was all Ichigo heard as he fainted into darkness…


End file.
